Choice for Commanding Officer Is Praised
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A 33-year police veteran was named commanding officer of the Brooklyn North patrol borough yesterday.
Assistant Chief Gerald Nelson, 54, will lead 3,500 officers in an area that includes Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and East New York.
Local lawmakers praised the appointment of a black borough commander — the only one in the police department — calling it a step toward diversifying the department and improving police-community relations, particularly following the fatal shooting of Sean Bell by police last month.
“In order to restore confidence in communities of color, it’s important that this is a good step forward,” City Council Member Letitia James said at a news conference.
Outside the Brooklyn North stationhouse yesterday, Mr. Nelson said he liked to think Commissioner Raymond Kelly picked the best man for the job. Asked to reflect on becoming the department’s only black commanding officer, he said, “I’m proud to be put in that position.”
Previously, Mr. Nelson headed up the school safety division, where he came under fire last year for using a vulgarity during a training session. He is a graduate of Marist College and the FBI Academy.
He succeeds Assistant Chief Joseph Cunneen, who ended a 39-year career by walking out of the Brooklyn North stationhouse yesterday as an honor guard saluted him and a police helicopter flew overhead.
